Okay, so I'm watching Air Force One, and they're starting the rescue scene. My question is this. Is a rescue like the one depicted in the movie even possible in real life? I've seen this movie lots of times, and never really thought about the rescue scene until now.

I am a blending newbie and a self-proclaimed expert so take what I am about to say with a LARGE grain of salt.

First off, there is nothing available on planes so you can "blow" out a door like a canopy on a fighter jet. (As far as I know)
Then there is this you kick a guy out the back of the C-130 and give him the nutcracker connection as he hits the nose of AF1.

To put it short (with the info I have), no its not you can do just for kicks and try. But with preparations anything is possible.

//Poadrim

Good judgment comes from experience. Good experience comes from someone else's bad judgment.

Well, actually the KC-135, E-3, etc. have a hatch that is blown out inflight for a manual bailout. But you go out the bottom of the aircraft, not the side, you have to manually open side hatches for that.

But, Poadrim is correct, this cannot be done with what we have today, and I doubt very much it would be done with the POTUS on the first attempt at it.

One of the airport movies (Airport 77?) did something similar, except they were trying to lower a tanker pilot into the opened hole in a B-747 from a HH-53.

But that type event requires extremely precise flying, a well trained person making the transfer, and well trained support crews on both aircraft. No way relatively untrained people like in the movie could make it.

Quoting KC135TopBoom (Reply 2):But, Poadrim is correct, this cannot be done with what we have today, and I doubt very much it would be done with the POTUS on the first attempt at it.

It would make more sense to me at least to attempt to try and land the aircraft. Just keep giving it enough fuel to get to a friendly country, and bring it in for a landing along some road somewhere.

Quoting rfields5421 (Reply 3):But that type event requires extremely precise flying, a well trained person making the transfer, and well trained support crews on both aircraft. No way relatively untrained people like in the movie could make it.

I didn't think so, and I certainly didn't think that kind of task is taught to Air Force PJ's.

Quoting taxpilot (Reply 5):KC-135 and Boeing 7XX aircraft have large, opening cockpit windows which are also designated emergency exits. We could and would (occasionly) open these in flight when depressurized.

Quoting B727LVR (Reply 6):Quoting taxpilot (Reply 5):KC-135 and Boeing 7XX aircraft have large, opening cockpit windows which are also designated emergency exits. We could and would (occasionly) open these in flight when depressurized.

I bet that gets a bit breezey, and not to mention noisy!!!

It does.

But those are emergency exits on the ground (turn off the pitot tube heat), you could not bailout through the open sliding windows with a parachute on your back and a seat kit on your butt. I also would not want to try to access the airplane through the sliding window inflight.